Sen. Robert Menendez and Rep. Albio Sires joined the Hoboken Housing Authority Thursday in unveiling the new Mama Johnson Field, a state-of-the-art recreational facility.

While kids played on bouncy castles provided for the event, public officials that included state Assemblyman Ruben Ramos, D-Hoboken, and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer gathered on the freshly surfaced field to celebrate completion of the $900,000 project.

Menendez, the onetime Union City mayor who chairs the U.S. Senate Housing Committee, said he was “thrilled” that $250,000 of federal funds was invested in the project at Jackson and Fourth streets that is surrounded on three sides by Hoboken public housing.

“It is really a fulfillment of what Mama Johnson’s vision of life was,” Menendez said. “She wanted every child regardless of the happenstance of where they were born and what station of life they were born into, to achieve to their God-given capabilities. She wanted to make sure they had an outlet to ensure that they would not join a gang, but join a broader community.”

The project included resurfacing the field with artificial turf, installing a new drainage system, dugouts, bleachers, fences, batting cages and lighting.

The field is used for Hoboken’s girls softball program, PAL football, soccer and other city and school recreational programs. ZogSports and ABL Sports also run various adult leagues that include kickball and softball at the site.

“Now our residents have their own state-of-the-art facility that others will come to,” said HHA Director Carmelo Garcia.

Mary Elizabeth “Mama” Johnson, who died in 2005, was a mother of 11, a housing authority resident and employee, and an avid softball player.

She was a housing community activist who worked with city kids to provide them recreational activities and divert them from a life on the streets.

Johnson’s son, Vinny Johnson, speaking on behalf of the family, recalled his mother keeping a watchful eye on everything on the playing field from her third-floor window.

“If my mom was here she would thank everyone for remembering her,” said Johnson, 50. “I wish she was here, but I know she is watching.”

Mama Johnson Field was resurfaced through a joint venture between the Hoboken City Council and the Hoboken Housing Authority, and funding came from city bonds, federal funds and the housing authority’s capital budget, officials said.